Increased circulating Th22 cells correlated with Th17 cells in patients with severe preeclampsia

• Main Authors: Zhan Zhang (Author), Hui Liu (Author), Ying Shi (Author), Na Xu (Author), Yuanyuan Wang (Author), Aiping Li (Author), Wanyu Song (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group, 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 1064-1955; 1525-6065; 10.1080/10641955.2016.1239737
• Keywords: severe preeclampsia; th22 cells; th17 cells; treg cells; Gynecology and obstetrics; RG1-991
• Source: Hypertension in Pregnancy, Vol 36, Iss 1, Pp 100-107 (2017)

Objective: We aimed to investigate Th22 cells and their association with Th17 and Treg cells in the etiology of severe preeclampsia (sPE). Methods: Thirty sPE patients and 30 healthy pregnant women were recruited in this study. The percentages of Th17, Th22, and regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the peripheral blood were measured by flow cytometry. ELISA was used to measure the plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-17, IL-22, and IL-10. Results: The percentages of Th17 and Th22 cells and the plasma concentrations of IL-17 and IL-22 were significantly increased in sPE patients along with a decreased percentage of Treg cells and a decreased plasma IL-10 concentration. There was a positive correlation between the levels of Th22 cells and Th17 cells in sPE patients. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between plasma IL-22 concentration and the percentage of Th22 cells in sPE patients. Conclusions: Increased circulating Th22 cells, which were correlated with Th17 cells, were observed in patients with sPE. The immune imbalance between T helper (Th) cells may contribute to the pathogenesis of sPE.